Memories
by maxandkiz
Summary: Dean and Sam reminisce as Dean patches up an injured Sam.


Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to Kripke and the CW.

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"I should've known!" Dean grumbled as he threw shovel after shovelful of dirt onto the still smoldering coffin while keeping an eye on his swaying sibling. Their "simple" salt and burn had gone to Hell in a hand basket when the angry spirit of one David Russell had appeared halfway through the exhumation and began throwing everything including Sam in a frantic attempt to stop Dean from dispatching him back to wherever it was spirits went. His diversion failed however as Dean slammed through the lid of the coffin, covered the decaying body with salt and lighter fluid, and then dropped a lit match onto the mix putting David to rest in record time.

Unfortunately for Sam by the time that task had been accomplished he had already been thrown into two trees and a granite headstone. Groaning he planted his hands on the ground and slowly levered himself up into a sitting position. He leaned back against the tombstone he'd been tossed into hissing as all the cuts and scrapes on his back from the branches and bark of the trees and an inconveniently placed briar bush made themselves known. Closing his eyes Sammy took several slow, deep breaths to quell the nausea sitting up had caused. Once he felt reasonably certain that he wouldn't puke, Sam opened his eyes to find himself face to face with a very worried big brother.

Dean knelt down in front of Sammy and frowned at the blood that was streaming down his face from a nasty two inch gash above his right eye. Snatching a bandana out of his back pocket he pressed it against the wound eliciting a moan from Sam. He held it there for several minutes before taking one of Sam's hands and placing it on the bandana. Letting go he made sure his little brother kept the makeshift bandage in place and then quickly and expertly assessed Sam's other injuries letting out a relieved breath at finding nothing more serious than a concussion. After making Sammy as comfortable as possible, Dean had trudged back to the grave and started refilling it.

An hour and a half later he finally tossed the last shovelful of dirt on the grave and stomped it down. "Good riddance" he muttered kicking at the dirt. Dean quickly grabbed up their equipment before walking back to Sam and getting his little brother up and moving albeit slowly.

"Come on Sammy we're almost there! You're doing good. Just a few more steps and then you can sit down for a little bit." Dean encouraged as he helped his little brother shuffle out of the tiny graveyard. He continued the litany of praise and encouragement as the two limped past the ramshackle church and stumbled to the impala.

Dropping the weapons bag Dean propped Sam up against the back door of the car. Holding his little brother up with one hand he used the other to throw the passenger door open. He gently lowered Sam onto the bench seat and patted his knee. "You made it, kiddo. Now you can just sit back and enjoy the ride." Dean comforted as he lifted Sam's legs and settled them in the impala.

Shutting the door Dean snatched up their bag and raced around to the other side of the car. Pulling open the driver's side door he tossed the bag into the back seat and then climbed inside. He quickly shoved the key in the ignition, started the engine, and pulled out onto the small dirt road. Casting a sideways glance over at his sibling and seeing his eyes closed Dean frowned. Reaching over he swatted Sam on the shoulder. "Hey, no sleeping!" he ordered.

"Not sleeping" Sam grumbled opening his eyes.

"Sure, whatever you say Sam." Dean said. "Listen; just stay awake a little bit longer for me, okay? Why don't you talk or something? That'll keep you awake."

Sam slowly turned his head to stare at Dean. "You, you want me to, to talk?" he rasped.

"Don't act so shocked. It's not like I don't ever listen to you. I listen most of the time. Okay sometimes." He corrected seeing Sammy's eye roll. "You know what, never mind. Forget I said anything."

"No Dean, sorry. You just sur-surprised me that's, that's all." Sam ground out as a sharp pain sliced through his head. Closing his eyes he concentrated on breathing through the pain like their dad had taught them. Once the pain had lowered to a more tolerable level Sam opened his eyes to find the impala stopped and a very worried Dean staring at him. "I'm, I'm okay" he weakly whispered.

Dean snorted. "Sure you are Sammy" he said pulling back onto the road.

Not wanting to worry Dean anymore than he already had Sam decided to take Dean's advice and talk. He racked his fuzzy brain for something to say. Latching onto the first memory that popped into his head Sam quietly called out, "Hey Dean, remember the first time I actually bought a book? I think it was the year I was in kindergarten"

Flashback, Fall 1988

John Winchester sat at the rickety table in their latest apartment staring down at the papers scattered in front of him. Scrubbing a weary hand over his face he rechecked all the figures once more hoping he'd made a mistake somewhere. But the results were the same. Except for the ten dollar bill in his wallet he was broke. Which meant he'd have to leave the boys alone tonight so he could go make some money in a bar the next town over. No way he was gonna risk hustling around here. Hearing soft footsteps behind him John turned to see five year old Sammy cautiously approaching the table with some kind of flyer in his hand. "Hey, sport, what'cha got there?" he asked smiling down at his baby boy.

"Look daddy! The book fair's at our school. We got to go see it in the library yesterday and it's so cool! There's shelves and shelves of nothing but books!" Sammy said with awe in his voice. "And you know what? Mrs. Raley said that we can buy the books. We can bring them home and keep them forever."

"Really?" John inquired hoping this wasn't going where he thought it was.

"Uh huh" Sammy replied climbing up on his daddy's lap and opening the flyer for John to see. He quietly sat and looked through the paper with his dad pointing out different books of interest. After checking out the back page, Sammy carefully set the flyer down and turned to face John. "Daddy, can I get a book at the book fair? Please?" he asked puppy dog eyes firmly in place.

"Sorry kiddo" John said feeling like the worst daddy in the world. "Daddy doesn't have enough money to get a book this time. Maybe next time, okay, Sammy?"

"Okay daddy" Sammy agreed sliding off John's lap and heading for the door. "I'm gonna go get ready for school now."

Later that morning

Sammy was sitting on the floor listening to Mrs. Collier tell them about all the special days coming up this month when Mrs. Sheppard called him and his two friends, Nolan and Christian, up to her desk. The three friends glanced nervously at each other wondering what they had done wrong before standing and walking over to their teacher. "Yes ma'am?" Sammy politely asked.

"Don't worry boys. You're not in trouble." Mrs. Sheppard assured the three. "In fact, I have a treat for you for being such sweet students. I want you three to walk to the library together. I've given Mrs. Raley two dollars for each of you to spend at the book fair. You guys go pick out what you want and then come back so someone else can go, okay?"

"Thanks, Mrs. Sheppard!" the boys hollered hugging their teacher before racing out the door. Once in the hallway they slowed to a walk not wanting to get caught running and get in trouble. They talked all the way to the library about what they wanted to get with their money. As soon as they walked into the library the boys went up to Mrs. Raley and said that they were from Mrs. Sheppard's class. She told them to look around and decide what they wanted to buy. Christian and Nolan immediately headed for the table full of pencils, erasers, stickers, and tattoos while Sammy made his way to the shelves. He slowly walked around the room carefully scanning each book. On his second trip around the book fair Sammy finally found what he wanted; books about a dog named Biscuit. He reached out, picked up the first Biscuit book, and turned it over. Looking above the bar code for the price like Dean had taught him he frowned. Four ninety nine was way more than he had. He checked the other book sighing when it said the same thing. Deciding he'd have to settle for pencils and erasers Sammy took one last glance at the beloved books and headed back to the front. He never noticed the woman behind the counter watching him.

Going up to the table Sammy glanced at all the different small toys and things before picking up two pencils, a notepad, and a couple of erasers. Taking them to the lady behind the counter he held them out. "I'd like to get these, please." He said.

"Are you sure?" Mrs. Lovett asked. "You haven't looked in the book bargain bin, yet. All those books are a dollar a piece." She pointed to a small blue tub filled with books and sitting right on top were the two Biscuit books he'd just be looking at!

Confused Sammy glanced from the shelf back to the bin. He picked up the two books and handed them to Mrs. Lovett. "These are in the wrong place ma'am. They're supposed to be on the shelves over there." He told her.

"These don't go on the shelf sweetie. You see the book company sends some copies to put on the shelves and a couple of extra copies to go in the bargain bin." She fibbed. "It's their way of thanking us for holding the book fair at our school. Those books really are a dollar a piece. Would you like to get those instead of the pencils and erasers?"

"Yes ma'am!" Sammy replied giving her a dimpled grin. He carefully took the two Biscuit books from Mrs. Lovett and skipped out of the library.

End of flashback

"Dude, I can't believe you were so gullible when you were little!" Dean crowed pulling into the motel. "Bargain bin books!" he snickered climbing out of the impala and racing around to the passenger side. Opening the door Dean reached in and gently placed an arm around Sam's waist before heaving him out of the car. He stood still for a moment to give Sam time to adjust and then started the slow shuffle to the hotel room. "You do know that Mrs. Lovett and Mrs. Raley paid the money that was left on those books, don't you?"

"They, they did?" Sam breathlessly asked as they stumbled into the room.

"Yeah, they did doofus." Dean replied. "I heard them talking about it that afternoon. They said it was the least they could do after they fussed at you about those falling books." He gently lowered Sam onto the bed furthest from the door and leaned him against the headboard. "Don't move" he directed before rushing out the door. Returning with the first aid kit in hand Dean dropped it on the nightstand and walked into the bathroom coming out with wash rags and an ice bucket full of warm water. He set those on the nightstand also and sat down on the side of the bed beside Sam's legs. "Alright, Sammy, let's get those shirts off of you and see what we're dealing with." He instructed. He helped Sam peel off layer after layer of shirts. After making Sam lay down on the bed on his stomach, Dean took in the various cuts and scrapes that covered his brother's back with a scowl. Cleaning and disinfecting those was gonna feel like being stung by a swarm of bees. Grabbing a wash cloth he soaked it in the warm water and squeezed it out. Time for a distraction. "You remember that time dad got hurt on a hunt and Caleb had to come get us and take us to Bobby's?" Dean asked as he began to gently clean the scratches. "Think it was the first time we went back to Bobby's after he took Muffin. You were so hyped up about seeing her that I thought Caleb was gonna strangle you before we got there…"

Flashback, Fall of 1989

"Muffie!" Sammy shouted jumping out of the car and racing up to the porch. "Muffie, where are you?" A shrill bark from behind the house had Sammy turning and running around to the back of the house where Bobby's workshop was. Seeing a small brown bundle of fluff bounding his way Sammy dropped to his knees and held out his hands laughing as the puppy jumped into his lap and began licking his face.

"Hey there Sammy!" Bobby called as he walked up to the little boy and ruffled his hair. "Come on and help me get your bags in and get something to eat. Then you can play with Muffin all you want."

"Okay, Uncle Bobby" Sammy agreed patting Muffin once more before putting her down and following his uncle back around to the car. He grinned as Muffin happily trotted along beside them.

"I see the runt found you." Caleb wearily stated. "Good. I'm going upstairs to get some shut eye. The hyperactive monkey and his older brother are all yours."

Bobby waved Caleb on before walking up to the car and leaning inside. He passed the smallest duffle back to Sammy and then grabbed the remaining bag. Slamming the door shut he followed Dean and Sammy up the stairs and into the house. They walked down the hall and deposited the bags into the boys' usual room and then made their way to the kitchen. After washing their hands in the sink, the boys set the table while Bobby cooked hot dogs and macaroni and cheese. Once the food was ready the three sat down and quickly dug into the feast.

"Sammy, quit feeding Muffin hot dog." Bobby scolded. "She has her own food right over there by the door.

"But she likes people food better, Uncle Bobby." Sammy countered pointing to the little dog who was practically dancing on her hind legs by his chair.

"Don't matter. She's a dog so she'll eat dog food. Got it?" Bobby told him.

"Yes sir" Sammy replied. "Sorry Muffin, Uncle Bobby says I can't give you anymore." He added reaching down to pet the small puppy. Wanting to have plenty of time to play with his puppy Sammy swiftly devoured the rest of his lunch and carried his dishes to the sink. "Can I go play with Muffin now, Uncle Bobby?" he asked.

"Sure sport, just make sure you stay in the backyard where I can see you." Bobby instructed as he put the stopper in the sink and started running water. "Take that ball with the whales on it out with you. Muffin loves to play with it."

"Okay! Come on Muffie! Let's go play!" Sammy called as he scooped up the ball and ran out the back door with Muffin on his heels. Sammy raced out into the open backyard and waved at his uncle who was watching out the window. Dropping the ball in front of him he laughed as Muffin ran to the other side of the ball and crouched down in front of it. "You look like a lion that's about to pounce on its lunch." Sammy joked before lightly kicking the ball. He laughed as the little puppy growled before launching herself at the ball. Lowering her head she pushed the ball around the yard with her nose only stopping when Sammy called her name. The two friends spent the rest of the afternoon and part of the evening playing with the ball.

End of flashback

"You know, I can still see Bobby's face when Muffin curled up beside you in the bed that night. He looked like a kid who had lost his teddy bear. Kinda felt sorry for the old guy." Dean commented as he placed the bandage over the neat row of stitches in Sam's head.

"She was a good dog." Sam sleepily said.

"Yeah, she was." Dean agreed patting Sam's shoulder. "Alright, only one thing left to do." Pulling the Tylenol out of the kit he quickly shook three capsules into his hand. He passed them to Sam along with a plastic cup of water. He waited for Sammy to finish the water and then took the cup and started gathering up their supplies. "Why don't you get some sleep? I'll wake you up in a little while."

"Thanks, Dean" Sammy whispered closing his eyes.

"Anytime bro" Dean quietly replied. Picking up the bucket of water and rags he tiptoed to the bathroom and dumped the water in the sink. He threw the dirty rags into a corner of the room and set the ice bucket back on the counter before turning off the light and going back in the room. After placing all their supplies back in their first aid kit and throwing away the trash, Dean set the alarm on his cell to wake him in an hour and lay back on his bed. He was asleep and dreaming before his head even hit the pillow.

The End

AN- This one was all Vonnie's idea. She wanted a story that had a mix of boys as children and adults. Hope this is kinda what you had in mind. Oh, and Vonnie and Sammygirl1963, I'm working on that little story we talked about. You should be seeing it soon. :)

Lisa


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